This art history video discussion examines Sir John Everett Millais' "Mariana" 1851, oil on wood, 597 x 495 mm (Tate Britain).
This art history video discussion examines Jean-Francois Millet's "L'Angelus", ca. 1857-1859, oil on canvas (Musee d'Orsay, Paris).
This art history video discussion looks at Jean-Francois Millet's "The Gleaners", 1857, oil on canvas, (Musee d'Orsay, Paris).
This course is an introduction to many of the central issues in a branch of philosophy called philosophy of mind.
Modal logic is the logic of necessity and possibility, and by extension of analogously paired notions like validity and consistency, obligation and permission, the known and the not-ruled-out. This a first course in the area. A solid background in first-order logic is essential. Topics to be covered include (some or all of) the main systems of propositional modal logic, Kripkean "possible world" semantics, strict implication, contingent identity, intensional objects, counterpart theory, the logic of actuality, and deontic and / or epistemic logic. The emphasis will be more on technical methods and results than philosophical applications.
Explores the theory and practice of scientific modeling in the context of auditory and speech biophysics. Based principally on seminar-style discussions of the research literature, subject draws on examples from hearing and speech (e.g., cochlear and vocal-fold mechanics) to explore general, meta-theoretical issues that transcend the particular subject matter. Examples include: What is a model? What is the process of model building? What are the different approaches to modeling? What is the relationship between theory and experiment? How are models tested? What constitutes a good model?
This class provides an introduction to modern art and theories of modernism and postmodernism. It focuses on the way artists use the tension between fine art and mass culture to mobilize a critique of both. We will examine objects of visual art, including painting, sculpture, architecture, photography, prints, performance and video. These objects will be viewed in their interaction with advertising, caricature, comics, graffiti, television, fashion, folk art, and "primitive" art.
This course analyzes major modern plays featuring works by Shaw, Pirandello, Beckett, Brecht, Williams, Soyinka, Hwang, Churchill, Wilson, Frayn, Stoppard, Deveare Smith, and Kushner. The class particularly considers performance, sociopolitical and aesthetic contexts, and the role of theater in the world of modern multimedia.
A survey of major works of the twentieth century, beginning with Mahler, Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Bartok, and Ives; continuing with Varese, Webern, Hindemith, Prokofiev, among other composers. A general view of the current scene. Description from course home page:This subject covers a specific branch of music history: Western concert music of first sixty years of the twentieth century. Although we will be listening to and studying many pieces (most of the highest caliber) the goal of the course is not solely to build up a repertory of works in our memory (though that is indeed a goal). We will be most concerned with larger questions of continuity and change in music. We will also consider questions of reception, or historiography - that is, the creation of history and our perception of it. Why do we perceive much of this music, so much closer in time to us than Mozart or Beethoven, to be so foreign? Is this music aloof and separate from popular music of the twentieth century or is there a real connection (perhaps hidden)? The subject will continue to follow some topics of central interest to music before 1960, such as serialism and aleatory, beyond the 1960 cutoff. Conversely a few topics which get their start just before 1960 but which flourish later (minimalism, computer music) will be covered only in 21M.263.
This is a textbook (or better, a workbook) in modern philosophy. It combines readings from primary sources with two pedagogical tools. Paragraphs in italics introduce figures and texts. Numbered study questions (also in italics) ask students to reconstruct an argument or position from the text, or draw connections among the readings. And I have added an introductory chapter (Chapter 0 Minilogic and Glossary), designed to present the basic tools of philosophy and sketch some principles and positions. The immediate goal is to encourage students to grapple with the ideas rather than passing their eyes over the texts. This makes for a better classroom experience and permits higher-level discussions. Another goal is to encourage collaboration among instructors, as they revise and post their own versions of the book.
Consideration of some substantial twentieth-century poetic voices. Authors vary, but may include Moore, Frost, Eliot, Stevens, and Pound. This course considers some of the substantial early twentieth-century poetic voices in America. Authors vary, but may include Moore, Frost, Eliot, Stevens, and Pound. We'll read the major poems by the most important poets in English in the 20th century, emphazinig especially the period between post-WWI disillusionment and early WW II internationalism (ca. 1918-1940). Our special focus this term will be how the concept of "the Image" evolved during this period. The War had undercut beliefs in master-narratives of nationalism and empire, and the language-systems that supported them (religious transcendence, rationalism and formalism). Retrieving energies from the Symbolist movements of the preceding century, early 20th century poets began to rethink how images carry information, and in what ways the visual, visionary, and verbal image can take the place of transcendent beliefs. New theories of linguistics and anthropology helped to advance this interest in the artistic/religious image. So did Freud. So did Charlie Chaplin films. We'll read poems that pay attention both to this disillusionment and to the compensatory joyous attention to the image: to ideas of the poet-as-language-priest, aesthetic-experience-as-displaced-religious impulse, to poetry as faith, ritual, and form.
This art history video discussion looks at Amedeo Modigliani's "Young Woman in a Shirt", 1918, oil on canvas (Albertina, Vienna).
Detailed analysis of the biochemical mechanisms that control the maintenance, expression, and evolution of prokaryotic and eukaryotic genomes. Topics covered in lecture and readings of relevant literature include: gene regulation, DNA replication, genetic recombination, and translation. Logic of experimental design and data analysis emphasized. Presentations include both lectures and group discussions of representative papers from the literature.
This art history video discussion looks at Claude Monet's "Cliff Walk at Pourville" 1882, oil on canvas, 26-1/8 x 32-7/16 inches / 66.5 x 82.3 cm (Art Institute of Chicago).
This art history video discussion looks at Claude Monet's "Poplars", 1891, oil on canvas (Philadelphia Museum of Art).
Claude Monet painted more than 30 canvases depicting Rouen cathedral between 1892 and 1894. This video discusses the following four paintings in the collection of the Musee d'Orsay in Paris: "Rouen Cathedra"l (The Portal, Grey Weather), 1894, oil on canvas; "Rouen Cathedral" (The Portal and the Tour d'Albane, Morning Effect), 1894, oil on canvas; Rouen Cathedral (The Portal, Harmony in Blue), 1894; and "Rouen Cathedral (The Portal and the Tour d'Albane in the Sunlight)", 1894, oil on canvas.
This art history video discussion looks at Claude Monet's "The Argenteuil Bridge", 1874, oil on canvas, 60.5 x 80 cm (Musee d'Orsay, Paris). Please note that there is significant background chatter in this video, the Musee d'Orsay is happily a very busy museum and this painting is hung in a relatively small room.
This art history video discussion looks at Claude Monet's "Les Nympheas (The Water Lilies)", suite of paintings on permanent exhibition at the Musee de l'Orangerie in Paris. Room 1: "Morning", oil on two canvas panels c. 1918-26; "Clouds", oil on three canvas panels c. 1918-26; "Green Highlights", oil on two canvas panels c. 1918-26; and Sunset, oil on canvas c. 1918-26. Room 2: "Reflection of Trees", oil on two canvas panels 1918-26; "The Morning Light", the willows, oil on three canvas panels c. 1918-26; "The Morning Willows" oil on three canvas panels c. 1918-26; "The Two Willows", oil on four canvas panels c. 1918-26.
This course will focus on issues that arise in contemporary public debate concerning matters of social justice. Topics will likely include: euthanasia, gay marriage, racism and racial profiling, free speech, hunger and global inequality. Students will be exposed to multiple points of view on the topics and will be given guidance in analyzing the moral frameworks informing opposing positions. The goal will be to provide the basis for respectful and informed discussion of matters of common moral concern.
This course is an examination of philosophical theories of action and motivation in the light of empirical findings from social psychology, sociology, and neuroscience. Topics include belief, desire, and moral motivation; sympathy and empathy; intentions and other committing states; strength of will and weakness of will; free will; addiction and compulsion; guilt, shame and regret; evil; self-knowledge and self-deception; and, virtues and character traits. This course is a CI-M course.